beefsteak plant
- noun
:
planta beefsteak
- The beefsteak plant is often grown for its striking purple foliage in garden borders.
Examples
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Gardeners prize the beefsteak plant for its unique color and decorative value.
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She planted a beefsteak plant beside the walkway to add a tropical touch.
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The beefsteak plant has vibrant foliage.
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Many gardeners love the beefsteak plant for its colors.
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Gardeners prize the beefsteak plant for its unique color and decorative value.
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She planted a beefsteak plant beside the walkway to add a tropical touch.
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The beefsteak plant is often grown for its striking purple foliage in garden borders.
Synonyms
A South American garden plant with green, purple, or red leaves and small woolly flower spikes
A South American plant grown for its colorful green, purple, or red leaves and small woolly flowers
A plant from South America with bright red or purple leaves used for decoration
Surface Forms
Morphology
beefsteak + plant
The noun clearly signals a kind of plant and the element 'beefsteak' invites a metaphorical resemblance (colour, shape or texture), so a learner who knows both words would infer it is a plant named for its beefsteak-like quality. However, the precise botanical sense (an ornamental herb with specific colourful foliage and spikes) is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making some prior exposure helpful.
Etymology
Beefsteak plant may come from its bold green-to-purple branches and leaves that resemble a slab of raw beefsteak. That's why gardeners use this name for showy plants with meat-like colour and texture, linking the look of the leaves to 'meat'.
